Small Hope
by cannibal-peach
Summary: Albel disappears and Nel searchs for Aquaria's valuable ally. Searching, she comes across a child who bears a striking resemblance to him. Then she discovers a threat to both their kingdoms and works to save them. All the while Albel threatens her heart.


**Disclaimer: Star Ocean and any and all contents do not belong to me.**

**DISCLAIMER 2: This fiction is not mine but property of Epiclesis or Rinny12. I have asked permission to continue her story where it left off, and was given the go ahead.**

**This chapter is not written by me but Epiclesis/Rinny12. I have put this here so that those who have not read her story will not become confused when they stumble onto this. This is however edited by me. **

**I will be writing chapters after this but will also be using some ideas that Rinny advises. I guess you could say that this is a collab.**

**This consists of three chapters so it's pretty long. I have warned you. **

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**Small Hope - Prologue:**

**My heart freezes- like ice would over water**

His diminishing form became surrounded in obscurity as he fell into a vast emptiness. His body immobilized; his voice silenced. His thoughts wander in his hazy mind when drifting in the dark void.

_Where am I?_

**Darkness veils me- no light can be seen**

His mind mingled with awareness yet his body felt heavy and was unable to respond to his thoughts. A small light burnished through the darkness as it greeted his crimson eyes slowly opening. He stared at the distant diminutive light, a voice calling him from his indistinct state. The voice gave him warmth of familiarity as the light slowly grew larger and closer; filling the gap between them.

**A voice calls my name yet I can not find the source**

Gentle arms enfold around him, the soothing voice saying his name again. He finds himself relaxing in the embrace slightly, soft hands caressing his hair affectionately. The luminosity slowly begins to envelop his body, the warmth never leaving him. The warm hands gradually disappear as the voice becomes faint in the light. Memories flood his mind as he slips in and out of consciousness. Both past and present call him as the images pass by with each slipping moment. Yet with his crimson eyes closing he gazes at the last image with a small content feeling; violet eyes staring at his vanishing form, becoming veiled in light.

**And as a light envelops me- I know where I truly belong.**

* * *

Woltar sat on the edge of his bed, his hands under his chin with a disturbed expression. He had an uneasy feeling when he woke up abruptly a moment ago; the feeling becoming worse when awake. His wrinkled hands fell at his side as his eyes stared at the wooden door leading out of the bedroom. With an exhausted sigh, his hand grasped the cane next to his bed; pushing his old bones to stand.

Grabbing a light cloak draped over a chair, the old man threw it onto his shoulders and walked out of the room into the dimly lit hallway. The crescent moon emitted small amounts of light through the closed drapes covering the windows. Twisted branches from the trees tapped against the glass windows while the wind howled outside in the cold night.

His fatigue form headed towards his office yet stopped when his eyes rested upon the room in the far right corner. The perturbed feeling became more definite in his mind as his gaze remained on the small room. Woltar considered his reasoning to be a mere figment of his imagination yet, as much as he tried he discovered himself unable to will it away. He insinuated the feeling to be different then the ones before and his weary face expressed concern. He shuffled towards the room at a tedious pace, cursing his old bones as he took each step. When reaching his destination, Woltar remained still for a moment before placing his hand on the handle and slowly pushing the door open.

Silence greeted him as he entered the room and upon seeing the sight he discovered it empty. The bed showed signs of a person sleeping with the rumpled quilt and sheets, but the untouched attire folded in the chair caused the old man to frown. A cold breeze entered the small room and Woltar looked up to notice the window open.

Yet as the old man stared at the window, his gaze drifted to the side of the bed seeing a sight that caused his eyes to widen. Propped up on the wall was none other then the Crimson Scourge, the treasured sword to both Airyglyph and to the owner. The ill at ease feeling returned as he walked over to the cursed blade and glanced back at the open window. He had known the boy to pull stunts like these in the past but the uneasy feeling inside made him think otherwise. With one last look at the blade Woltar sighed and lowered himself onto the empty bed, a look of anxiety on his worn face.

......._What has happened to you, Albel?........._

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**Ch.1**

Morning dawned over the rooftops of the small trading town as people from all over Elicoor II arrived for the early rush. The shops situated in the settlement opened for the people entering the marketplace. Chattering women and families walked down the busy streets while others talked either amongst themselves or with each other. At the four gates located at the corners of the town, people entered and exited the small trading settlement.

Through the north gate, a young woman walked into Peterny with some local residents in the nearby cities. The sunlight glinted off some of the armor underneath the grayish cloak; her vibrant red hair tinting with the sun above her. A small look of annoyance was evident on her face as she ran a hand through her short hair. On her arm were engraved several runes and behind her two sheathed daggers showed. Examining the small area, the Crimson Blade gave an exasperated sigh before heading towards the center square. '_Jeez, Apris, how did I become involved in this mess……….'_

The Aquarian spy's lifestyle returned to its tiring amount of work after the encounter with the creator. Though it was difficult to comprehend sometimes, two years had passed since that fateful day. When arriving back on Elicoor, Nel Zelpher parted ways with her companions and returned to the sacred city of Aquios. Though the peace between Airyglyph and Aquaria reduced the amount of duties needed for the legions, some conspiracy groups and rebellions over the alliance arose in the two countries which became enough to occupy the Aquarian spy.

Yet in these passing years, whereabouts of the others became unknown to Nel. Little contact had been made between them when departing and she would often find herself speculating as to how there lives were fairing. However, Airyglyph had recently fallen into a silent state a few weeks ago and no news as to why had reached Aquaria. The last she had heard of them was when she had visited Count Woltar in Kirsla before the abrupt silence. Though it had been a friendly visit, it soon turned into a colossal headache as she had learned a bit as to what Albel had been doing in Airyglyph. However this also led to an amount of charges made on the insufferable swordsman for different and unknown reasons. Reasons Nel would have preferred not to have knowledge of.

Despite the events though, Nel had yet to hear about Albel's situation after the encounter with Luther. She had not seen Albel during her visit to the kingdom in the few weeks before and when arriving back on Elicoor the swordsman had merely left without a word to the group. It wasn't until yesterday did she hear the mention of the captain's name in the hearing with the Queen.

_The audience chamber was left in silence upon hearing the recent events from the Airyglyph messenger. Nel remained in her position knelt before the Queen; a small look of shock evident on her face. The information had been least expected on her account and almost disbelieving. With a bit of struggle, she managed to look up and speak._

"_Albel Nox has gone missing? How did this happen?"_

_The messenger gave a small bow. "We do not know……Lord Albel, that is he…..he vanished without a trace, ...we're....not absolutely sure as to what occurred.."_

_Nel rolled her eyes. The response from the messenger wasn't helpful in answering her question. But then again, as she saw his sheepish expression she could sense a bit of sympathy in the back of her mind. The actions of Airyglyph's captain must have been a bit embarrassing and even more so when asking for assistance from former enemy land. For them to have no answer for his actions or even know a reason … _

'_leave it to him to cause something like this.' _

"_Still, even if Albel's absence is a bit disturbing…won't he return when he's ready? Nox usually doesn't like to be found when off doing what he considers important." _

_The messenger opted to reply but, Magistrate Lassalle spoke up. "That would be the case if not for the letter we received this afternoon from the King, relaying further account on the incident. The King finds it's in Airyglyph's best interests if you were to report to him personally for more information."_

'_More information?' Confusion was in Nel's mind with each word spoken. She didn't consider Albel's disappearance to be serious but the actions of the King made her think otherwise. _

"_So what am I required for? Albel and I aren't really close allies……" she said in a quiet tone._

_In a calm placid voice, the Queen looked down at Nel. "The King feels that since you have once fought together for a common cause that you'd be an asset in the investigation. He also believes your knowledge may lead them a step closer in locating Albel Nox and succeeding where others had failed to search."_

_A frown formed on Nel's lips as she lowered her head to look towards the ground. She couldn't argue with both the Queen's and King's logic in the matter but the mere fact alone that she would still have to assist find the scrawny bastard didn't help in the fact she was irritated. With an indefinite sigh, Nel stared up and bowed. "Very well, I shall fulfill this task placed upon me to the best of my abilities." _

_The Queen gave a small nod. "You shall head to the city of Airyglyph tomorrow, may Apris' divine protection be with on your mission."_

She soon snapped out of her thoughts when arriving at her destination; the cheerful talk of the residents walking around her. Despite already entering Peterny the journey to the city of Airyglyph was at least a two day trip and estimating her time, she should arrive at Kirsla by nightfall.

Adjusting her cloak, Nel turned and headed towards the southern gate leading to the Palmira Plains. However a large commotion soon interrupted her as people turned to the western side when a loud voice boomed out.

"_YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW YOU ROTTEN BRAT!"_

'_What the hell__?' _Her body circled towards all the uproar only to be greeted with overturned objects and light smoke from all the dirt brought into the air. A small form made its way though and Nel could faintly make out mumbled apologies. When the form came towards her, she stretched her arm out and grabbed the back of a brown shirt; causing the person to stop and stumble from the sudden halt.

"Owww! Let go you stupid wench!"

Annoyance began to show but Nel decided to calm herself instead. The child's back was to her yet it was palpable that something was in his arms. What caught Nel's interests, though, was the familiar messy hair; black tinted with wheat blonde tips. Her eyes showed curiosity as she stared at the child but before she could turn him around a large man came running up next to her; bent over slightly to catch his breath.

"I…..I finally…..caught up to you…..rotten kid….."

A snort could be heard from the small boy. "Don't think so highly of yourself. The Only reason you managed to even catch up was because this wench here held me down. If I had continued running then your pudgy short self would had passed out in the next few minutes….though I may giving you too much credit."

"What was that?!"

"I think you heard me clearly…… less you're deaf as well, you brainless oaf." The young boy turned his head towards the man, a smirk forming on his small face.

His red eyes danced with amusement from under his brunette hair while looking intently towards the enraged person. Nel's hand slowly loosened on the child from the small initial astonishment. Though two years had passed, the Crimson Blade could still detect the similar features on the small child standing before her. The attitude in his tone of voice and the all too recognizable smirk caused Nel's eyes to widen slightly. The only difference she could detect was that compared to a certain person, the boy only appeared to be around eight years old. '_Ohh Apris…..'_

"A….albel..?"

The small child's gaze turned to her with revelation; crimson locked with purple eyes, each showing an equal amount of surprise. Before Nel could respond, though the young boy asked a question in perplexity towards the Aquarian spy; one that caused her to remain frozen in even more shock.

"How do you know who I am?"

Nel gaped at the child, unsure as how to handle the events now becoming more complex and catastrophic. Her mind struggled with the newly found news as she blinked to distinguish if she was dreaming or imagining the entire incident. Then her mind began scrabbling for solutions. Maybe Albel Nox had a love child named after him....no. Albel Nox with a child, period, was not a possibility.

The younger's stare remained on Nel and her uncertainty; confusion slowly becoming minor irritation. Neither said anything and a tall stone wall of silence stood between the two.

Yet, with the two musing over the strange events, the fat man stood at the side in annoyance. A loud clearing of the throat being made to remind them of his presence. Both then turned their attention towards him and while one released a quiet sigh, the other glared under his bangs and spoke in a callous tone of voice; one reminding Nel even more of the arrogant swordsman.

Though this only seemed to entice the man into more outrage and fury at the boy and judging the situation, Nel could quickly perceive the upcoming outcome. This day was not going well for the Crimson Blade.

Taking a calming breath, the Aquarian Spy stepped forward and was now in-between the two men; the obese man livid and the younger with a haughty smirk.

"Stand aside wench and let me at that impudent mongrel!" the large man demanded in sheer irate.

Nel sighed and ran a hand in her hair, giving the man an irritated expression. "I'm not usually fond of seeing kids being abused in any way so why not try to calm down and--" She said but was cut off rudely.

"_AND WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW! _You weren't even present to see what that disrespectful brat did and you're telling me how the hell I should act or what I should do! " His face etched itself into anger as he glared at the red head that now had her arms crossed and staring with a questionable look.

Behind her, Albel stared and remained silent, his gaze directed from one adult to the other. Yet the man didn't seem finished as he looked at Nel once more before letting out a harsh laugh. "_I_ get it now..." he spat towards her with a jeer. "You must be one of those Aquarian _sluts_ from that sacred city of yours, am I right? Tch, figures that scum like you would pull this serene shit out…"

"Ohh and how so?" Her gaze became ice cold and her face became an impassive mask, Albel stared intently from behind, sensing that things just got very intresting.

Unfortunately, the man didn't notice Nel's sudden change from placating to cold and sneered.

"You Aquarians are the entire reason as to why Airyglyph is falling into even worse poverty and as to why it's become so pathetic. A great nation is now held pitiably in your grimy hands and if the war had still went about then your weak nation would have collapsed easily. Those celestial ships and strange lights were probably some little magic trick to save yourselves when faced with certain defeat. I would have at least thought our king to have some better brains when deciding what was best, but I suppose my trust has been misplaced…especially since now he's stained our good name with marrying that _filth of a so called woman."_

Her impassive expression remained as she listened to each word spoken yet the intense emotion of ire raged a storm inside.

To have her country's name disgraced and spoken in ill with morbid words was enough to make her want to draw her daggers. Many of her subordinates and people sacrificed themselves in the war previously and she wouldn't tolerate them to be disgraced in such a way. Her nation, friends, and majesty's efforts to bring peace were in no words cowardly and in the war then, they did anything but turn away in front of danger.

And this man's words seem only to mock what trials her people had endured on a war placed upon them by force. Yet as she clenched her hands and went to speak, a forgotten voice spoke out and was soon moving from behind, eyes matching the same fury to what Nel was experiencing inside. "That's not true, you shouldn't be speaking ill of another for any pathetic reason you may have."

The man turned his attention to the boy and scoffed; waving a pudgy hand at him almost like swatting a fly. "And what gives you the right to speak? Conversations such as these are not meat for an unimportant nuisance, who don't know the first thing about-"

"About what? How to be lowlife bastards or how not to respect the country that made it so that you weak pompous worms can live your damn insignificant lives? Or how not to honor those who entered the line of battle and who died for the sake of their king; the one who places the entire nation upon his shoulders?"

With a hard look directed towards the gawking man, Albel continued. "You try to act as if you have knowledge but the simple truth is that you're only trying to make your own useless life better. If you're so unsatisfied with what Airyglyph is deciding then, why don't you get off your lazy ass and do something rather then rant about your complaints to others that could care less."

At that point, both Albel and the man glared distastefully at one another; neither one standing down from the other's abhorrence gaze. Nel stood a bit away from the two men and had a mild surprised expression directed towards the smaller child.

Yet, the man seemed to be pushed beyond his patience as a hand was lifted yet stopped midway by a slimmer one." Unhand me this instant, wench."

Nel raised an eyebrow. "I believe I mentioned before that I dislike seeing kids handled in abusive ways..." With a firm authority gaze, she squeezed his wrist until he cried out in pain and then released him and motioned towards the other end of town. "Unless you wish for this situation to become intensified I suggest you go and make yourself scarce…"

Her firm gaze remained towards the larger man; bristling at the threat with a shaken form. Yet as the crowd around them began to turn their attention towards the scene, the man scoffed and with a glare at the two walked off leaving Nel and Albel standing in the center square.

However, as Nel turned towards the boy she discovered the spot to be empty; with only the view of the child's back walking off towards the eastern gate. With a small groan Nel adjusted her cape and followed after; the large city of Peterny slowly returning to its average business.

ﻫ

The eastern side fell into a calmer setting upon exiting the center square. The eight year old continued walking yet suddenly halted his movement and waited with an annoyed face; the sound of footsteps growing closer till stopping behind him. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Albel turned his head and looked to the Crimson Blade who now was looking down at him with an impassive look.

"Now what do you want?" He snapped at her.

Nel gave a questionable expression. "I was making sure you didn't run off to far after the little scene from before, I didn't overlook what it was originally about…" She said as she put her hands on her hips, this child may or may not be Albel Nox but he was still a child, who needed to be taught not to steal.

Albel gave an exasperated sigh. "Dammit……I was hoping you had a small memory loss with that…"

"Sad for you I didn't," She crossed her arms as she gazed down at Albel with a mother-like authority. "Care to explain yourself?"

"…." Albel looked down towards his feet; kicking one up slightly and placing his hands in his worn pockets. "…it's better if you see rather then explain it…."

'_See?' _Nel became confusion. The way Albel now talked and his posture expressed a different person then compared to the child she witnessed a few moments ago. Just what did Albel Nox have to hide that couldn't be said?

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**Again this fanfiction is not my idea/ or property. But created by Rinny12.**

**Please give her the proper respect. **

**And on that note please R&R :) (Or I'll cast a curse on you!!! mwaha)**


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